Sigmund Freud, the foundin’ father of psychoanalysis, once said, “We believe that civilization has been created under the pressure of the exigencies of life at the cost of satisfaction of the instincts.” Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher, laid it out like this, “The pressure of adversity does not affect the mind of the brave man…It is more powerful than external circumstances.” Then Peter Marshall, the famous preacher, shut the buildin’ down with, “When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”
Earlier this week the duns on ESPN’s First Take were literally on there trying to justify the foolishness of putting pressure on LeBron for having to win EVERY year because the standard had already been set. Stephen A. was literally saying that the old heads told him that he had to put pressure on LeBron because the pressure had been put on them to win.
Stop with this foolishness bruh. There was no pressure because there was no standard or any silly shows on TV that debated the greatness or lack thereof of players.
When LeBron James finally fulfilled a dream/promise to bring a championship home to Cleveland in 2016 he did the impossible. Two summers before that he’d put the ENTIRE city on his back and told them to ride with him because he’s got it. There was pressure like no other. To tell a city that hadn’t seen a professional sports championship in 52 years that’s he’s got it was enormous if not freakin’ impossible.
A few years before that ESPN The Magazine did a cover story with LeBron sitting down with Chris Broussard. They talked about a number of things from his fear of failure, his relationship with Jordan or lack thereof, and growing up an M.J. and A.I. fan. But what they didn’t talk about was all of the pressure that he’d faced coming into the league that was created by the very people who put him on a pedestal at 16.
What folks have never seemed to realize about LeBron James is that he came into the NBA with more pressure than any player that has EVER been drafted. And oh yes playa… that includes Michael Jeffery Jordan!
Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Boyz have been piling on this cat for years about why he couldn’t lead the Cavs (some BUMS) past the veteran San Antonio Spurs in the Finals when he was just 22 years old. They blasted him for leaving Cleveland after playing through two contracts and hooking up with his boys down on South Beach as well.
What duns failed to realize, especially Jordan fans, is that their boy Mike never had the pressure that LeBron had to win multiple championships when he walked into the league. There was no expectation for Mike to win titles coming out of North Carolina. He went to the Chicago Bulls bruh! As a kid I could go over to the Bulls games, bring my sneakers and get some playing time for crying out loud. Nobody expected that dun to win out the gate! Don’t ever forget that. The Bulls always sucked and there was no pressure for him win anything.
Even though there had been legends like Bill Russell that had come before Jordan, his legacy from day one wasn’t compared to Russell’s. When Mike was drafted boyz weren’t saying that in order for him to be great he’s got to win at least 11 championships. They weren’t saying that if he doesn’t at least match Bill in titles he’ll be a failure. They weren’t comparing him to the Big O and saying that if he didn’t average a triple double for at least a season he’s not worth the price of admission. Naw playboy! You didn’t hear that!
The media didn’t say when Kobe came out of Lower Marion High School that if he didn’t win as many as Jordan he would be considered a failure. But from day one LeBron had to be better than Jordan or bust because the media said so and because very few human beings actually think for themselves the fans accepted it as fact.
When Jordan came into the league as a very inconsistent shooter that couldn’t go to his left they didn’t say that he was a bust because there were parts of his game that needed work. They did begin to ask the question, “When is he goin’ to win “A” title not 6?” because boyz like Magic, Bird and Zeke were already winning and Mike was such a prolific scorer. They didn’t say, “When is he gonna win 11?” No, they let that young boy develop into the player that he eventually became. Nobody said once he won his first championship in ’91 that he’s got to win 10 more to be the greatest player we’ve ever seen! Stop me when I start lyin’ now.
However, LeBron came into the league with the expectation from all of the media that named him “The Chosen One” that if he didn’t live up to it he’d be a failure. What blows me away is that the same media that named him “The Chosen One” got upset with the kid when he put it on his back. The same duns that called him “King James” even before he’d won anything got mad at him because he ran with the moniker like every other kid that gets a nickname from the media.
He didn’t come up with his own nickname any more than Magic, The Ice Man, Pistol Pete, Chocolate Thunder or Air Jordan came up with theirs. But the world frowned upon LeBron for accepting the pressure that came with the name.
So if you never take time to understand the pressure that this cat had on him to win from day one you’ll never begin to understand why he’s made the decisions that he’s made about his future. You hear cats blasting him about why he left Cleveland to play with his boyz etc. but nobody seems to deal in the reality of being LeBron James.
After playing through two contracts with some bums and no help coming in the foreseeable future, his coach had just been fired and his GM had just quit. Why stay in Cleveland at the time? Because the pressure to win and become better than Jordan wasn’t goin’ anywhere. That train had already left the station when he was 16 years old playboy and nobody was going to let him off of the hook and he knew that.
No other player in the history of the game had been put on the cover of Sports Illustrated and named “The Chosen One!” Not even the great Michael Jordan! Why? Because he wasn’t the greatest high school basketball player the world had ever seen.
Let me put it where the goats could get it. There has never been a kid drafted into the NBA that HAD to win 5,6,7 championships just to get the respect of the dull media and the ignorant fans that believe everything a dun on TV says because he’s, well, on TV. They’ve brain washed the fans into believing that if LeBron doesn’t win at least 6 championships he’s a failure. Nobody has ever had that type of pressure. Not Wilt, Bill, Magic, Bird or Jordan!
Sure, LeBron added to that pressure when he did the dull pep rally in Miami and got caught up in the hype and said, “Not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7!” That was stupid because folks are always going to hold him to it. But don’t get it twisted, that expectation had already been set on the table the day he walked into the league in 2003 because they constantly compared him to Jordan before he’d even signed a contract.
So when LeBron made the decision to leave Cleveland not one of the duns dogging him about why he left ever once thought about the pressure that this cat was under to win! If Jordan had only won 2 titles boyz wouldn’t have tripped. Why? Because there was no expectation for him to win 11 championships when he was drafted. There was no expectation for him to be better than Wilt, Bill or the Big O etc. Magic and Bird were still playing. So their resumes were still being formed. Therefore, Mike didn’t play under the same microscope that LeBron has been playing under. He is the greatest player playing and has been for the better part of his career. Kobe was the greatest player in the league win Lebron came in but he quickly surpassed him because he proved that he could at least take some bums to the Finals by himself and Kobe couldn’t.
Not only was LBJ dealing with the pressure to win. He increased it by telling a fan base that hadn’t won a title in 52 years and had NEVER seen a basketball title that he was coming to the crib to win one for them. And in two years he did it in the most amazing manner. He led his team in darn near EVERY statistical category known to man. Not only did they win the title but they beat arguably the best statistical team in the history of the league with the best shooter of all-time after bein’ down 3-1. He led the team in points (208), rebounds (79), assists (62), blocks (16) and steals (18). All of those numbers were No.1 in the History of the Finals! That’s Pressure!
But check this out. He’d lived up to the hype and by the time he was age 31 he was a far better player and more accomplished than Jordan was at the same age. Using simple numbers, he could play all 5 positions and guard them, he’d been to 7 Finals, won 3 of them and he’d won 3 Finals MVP’s and 4 league MVP’s. Mike at the same age had only been to 3 Finals, had 3 titles and won 3 MVP’s. He only won 5 MVP’s in his whole career. LeBron was sitting on 4 at age 31. And oh yeah, MJ could only play 1 positions! Don’t EVER forget that. He couldn’t play the point because Mike was a scorer first and he wasn’t about to run any offense. His former teammate, Scottie Pippen said that on national TV several years ago. So he could only play one position. Stop telling yourself that Mike could play all over the floor and guard everybody.
Stop telling me about Mike never losing in the Finals, Mike was on the best team in the league EVERY time he went to the Finals. He was on Golden State before there was ever a Golden State. He had the best three-point shooter in Steve Kerr, the best two-way player in the league in Pippen, the best coach and the best rebounder in the league in Rodman to help win some of those title. AND MIKE WAS THE BEST PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE.
Think about this playboy! Every dun that LeBron had played with has already overachieved in life! Not one of those cats came into the league with the media expectation of having to win a title not even D. Wade that won 3 rings over the course of his career.
If he had never won a title coming out of Marquette nobody would have cared. Duns like Bosh, Kyrie, Kevin Love etc. have become rich beyond their wildest dreams, dating or married to some woman that they never would have met had it not been for the bread they’ve made as a result of playing and winning a championship because of LeBron. Cats like Iman Schumpert and JR Smith were traded to Cleveland for a 2nd round pick in 2019 bruh! They are now NBA Champions because of LeBron. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? So the only cat in the car that still has somewhere to go even on the current Lakers roster is LeBron. Why? Because the pressure to win “Ain’t Go-in Nowhere” like Puff Daddy!
Everybody else is just riding in the car. If the Lakers make it to the Finals cool, if not…nobody on that that team is going to lose any sleep but LeBron. There was no expectation for Anthony Davis to win anything when he came out of Kentucky. Not and ounce of pressure. If he wins cool if he doesn’t nobody cares.
So now you can understand the pressure that LeBron James is playing under that nobody in the history of the game ever had to deal with. Coronavirus Pandemic or not LeBron is expected to win. Not even the great Michael Jordan had that type of pressure on him to win.
So when you see LBJ in the streets just give him a pound because he’s doing the impossible under the pressure that continues to make diamonds. Stop me when I start lyin’!
Playas Thesaurus:
1) Spit: verb – to say
2) Dun: noun – the person in question, dude, guy, etc. It’s whoever I’m talkin’ about and its non-gender specific.
